Code Unknown: Incomplete Tales of Several Journeys (2000) Code inconnu: Récit incomplet de divers voyages (original title)

Director:

Michael Haneke

Writer:

Michael Haneke

Release Date:

15 November 2000 (France)

Genre:

Drama | Romance | War

Tagline:

Love has a language all its own

Plot:

Jean, a farm lad, wants to escape his silent father; he runs to Paris to his older brother, Georges...

Plot Keywords:

Pastry | Beggar | Children | Farm | Play

Awards:

1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

Juliette Binoche	...	Anne Laurent
Thierry Neuvic	...	Georges
Josef Bierbichler	...	The Farmer (as Sepp Bierbichler)
Alexandre Hamidi	...	Jean
Maimouna Hélène Diarra	...	Aminate
Ona Lu Yenke	...	Amadou
Djibril Kouyaté	...	The Father
Luminita Gheorghiu	...	Maria
Crenguta Hariton	...	Irina (as Crenguta Hariton Stoica)
Bob Nicolescu	...	Dragos
Bruno Todeschini	...	Pierre
Paulus Manker	...	Perrin
Didier Flamand	...	The Director
Walid Afkir	...	The Young Arab (as Walide Afkir)
Maurice Bénichou	...	The Old Arab
Carlo Brandt	...	Henri
Philippe Demarle	...	Paul
Marc Duret	...	The Policeman
Arsinée Khanjian	...	Francine
Florence Loiret Caille	...	Amadou's Friend (as Florence Loiret)
Nathalie Richard	...	Mathilde
Andrée Tainsy	...	Mrs. Becker
Elisabeth Marceul	...	Child
Melissande Zeddam	...	Child
Brandon Croteau	...	Child
Sonia Chauvelin	...	Child
Baptiste Gintzburger-Batle	...	Child
Sarah Agogue Tasse	...	Child
Alexandra Croteau	...	Child
Jerome Ferreira	...	Child
Melanie Lhote	...	Child
José Marques	...	Child
Guessi Diakite-Goumdo	...	Salimata
Jean-Yves Chatelais	...	Shop Owner
Laurent Suire	...	Policeman
Féodor Atkine	...	Man in Taxi (voice)
Malick Bowens	...	Witch Doctor
Ioan Marian Boris	...	Nicu
Monica Popa	...	Nuta
Ada Navrot	...	Florica
Giba Gonçalves	...	Percussion Teacher
Dominique Douret	...	David
Tsuyu Shimizu	...	David's Friend (as Tsuyu Bridwell)
Antoine Mathieu	...	Restaurant Waiter
Constantin Barbulescu	...	Mihai Popa
Domeke Meite	...	Demba
Marany Fofana	...	Youssouf's Sister
Aïssa Maïga	...	Black Girl with Blonde Hair
Costel Cascaval	...	Man in the Garden
Sandu Mihai Gruia	...	Group Leader
Daniel Dublet	...	Uncle
Boris Napes	...	Father in Cemetery
Isabelle Pietra	...	Mother in Cemetery
Cristina Ioanidis	...	Tatiana
Ion Haiduc	...	Man in Squat
Guillaume Morvilliers	...	Pierrot
Pascal Loison	...	Jolly Man
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jeff Cullen	...	Character portrayal
Irina Lubtchansky	...	Camera Assistant
Michael Haneke	...	Voice of Unseen Director of Anne's Film (voice) (uncredited)

Directed by
Michael Haneke

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Michael Haneke

Produced by
Yvon Crenn	....	executive producer
Christoph Holch	....	co-producer: ZDF
Marin Karmitz	....	producer
Thilo Kleine	....	co-producer: Bavaria Film
Titi Popescu	....	co-producer: Filmex
Alain Sarde	....	producer
Michael Weber	....	co-producer: Bavaria Film

Original Music by
Giba Gonçalves

Cinematography by
Jürgen Jürges

Film Editing by
Karin Hartusch
Nadine Muse
Andreas Prochaska

Casting by
Kris Portier de Bellair

Production Design by
Emmanuel de Chauvigny

Set Decoration by
Laurence Vendroux

Costume Design by
Françoise Clavel
Gloria Papura

Makeup Department
Isabelle Luzet	....	key hair stylist
Thi-Loan Nguyen	....	key makeup artist
Ion Toma	....	key makeup artist

Production Management
Bruno Bernard	....	unit production manager
David Crenn	....	assistant unit manager
Diona Dragnea	....	production manager: Romania (as Doina Dragnea)
Manuel Recolin	....	unit manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Melia Cerchez Anghel	....	assistant director: Romania
Denis Imbert	....	assistant director
Arnaud Mathey-Dreyfus	....	assistant director
Virgil Nicolaescu	....	second assistant director
Alain Olivieri	....	first assistant director
Joseph Rapp	....	assistant director
Dorel Torcatoru	....	assistant director: Romania
Gaëlle Tronquit	....	trainee assistant director

Art Department
Véronique Barnéoud	....	first assistant art director
Gabriel Bucur	....	assistant decorator: Romania
Bernard Chenevier	....	construction manager
Yann Dury	....	carpenter
Corinne Martin	....	painter
Calin Papura	....	set decorator: Romania
Thomas Pitre	....	property master
Olivier Prost	....	assistant decorator
Jean-Luc Schwarz	....	key painter
Vlad Teodor	....	assistant decorator: Romania
Annie Tourriol	....	assistant decorator
Ion Vasilescu	....	assistant decorator: Romania
Laurence Vendroux	....	construction manager
Wouter Zoon	....	property master

Sound Department
Edouard d'Heucqueville	....	sound mix technician
Dominique Eyraud	....	boom operator
Eric Ferret	....	sound mixer
Judith Guittier	....	assistant foley artist
Jean-Pierre Laforce	....	sound mixer
Lionel Lebras	....	boom operator: post-synchronisation
Laurent Lévy	....	sound effects editor
Nadine Muse	....	sound editor
Guillaume Sciama	....	sound engineer

Special Effects by
Séverine De Wever	....	production coordinator
Pierre Foury	....	special effects
Daniel Lenoir	....	special effects
Benoît Squizzato	....	special effects

Visual Effects by
Olivier Poujaud	....	digital compositor
Antoine Simkine	....	visual effects executive producer: Duboi
Daniel Trujillo	....	digital artist

Camera and Electrical Department
André Atellian	....	key grip (as Andre Attelian)
Sandel Bacalu	....	gaffer: Romania
Frédéric Batier	....	second assistant camera
Benoît Bayle	....	grip
Marion Befve	....	second assistant camera
Guy Bordet	....	electrician
Carlos Cabeceran	....	Steadicam operator
Olivier Cazzitti	....	gaffer
Marian Ene	....	grip: Romania
Nicolae Geoana	....	electrician: Romania
Jim Howe	....	gaffer
Jean-Bernard Josko	....	grip
Irina Lubtchansky	....	first assistant camera
Jérémie Nassif	....	still photographer
George Nicolae	....	electrician: Romania
Florin Niculae	....	electrician: Romania (as Florin Nicolae)
Gérard Rival	....	grip
Marian Sandor	....	second assistant camera: Romania
Joel Spinola	....	electrician (as Joël Spinola)

Casting Department
Carmen Brezeanu	....	extras casting: Romania
Melia Cerchez	....	casting: Romania
Claire-Marie Cuvilly-Givert	....	extras casting
Evy Figliolini	....	extras casting
Valérie Flan	....	extras casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Adina Bucur	....	costume assistant: Romania
Germaine Ribel	....	costumer

Editorial Department
Yannick Coutheron	....	assistant editor
Pierre Réali	....	color timer

Other crew
Razvan Constantinescu	....	general administrator: Romania
Aline Corneille	....	production secretary
Mariana Costea	....	production assistant: Romania
Eric Dupressoir	....	groupman
Greg Engler	....	location consultant: pre-production
Mathilde Incerti	....	press attache
Nathalie Kreuther	....	production assistant
Lina Martins	....	assistant: Juliette Binoche
Chloé Perlemuter	....	script supervisor
Gisèle Vuillaume	....	production administrator

Production Companies

• Bavaria Film
• Canal+
• Filmex
• France 2 Cinéma
• Les Films Alain Sarde
• MK2 Productions
• Romanian Culture Ministry
• Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen (ZDF)
• arte France Cinéma

Distributors

• Atalanta Filmes (2001) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Leisure Time Features (2001) (USA) (theatrical)
• MK2 Éditions (2001) (France) (DVD)
• Kino International (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Kino Video (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• BIM Distribuzione (2001) (Italy) (theatrical)
• Cinemien (2001) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• MK2 Diffusion (2000) (France) (theatrical)
• Prokino Filmverleih (2001) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Vértigo Films (2001) (Spain) (theatrical)
• Artificial Eye (2001) (UK) (all media)
• Homescreen (2001) (Netherlands) (video)
• Homescreen (2009) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Mongrel Media (Canada)

Also Known As:

"Code inconnu: Récit incomplet de divers voyages" - France (original title)
"Code Unknown" - Canada (English title)

Runtime:

France:118 min | Netherlands:117 min

Country:

France | Germany | Romania

Language:

Malinka | Romanian | French | German | English | Arabic | French Sign Language

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Singapore:PG | Singapore:NC-16 (DVD rating) | Australia:M | France:U | Germany:12 (w) | Italy:T | Norway:11 | Spain:T | Sweden:11 | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Mali

Company:

Bavaria Film

Trivia:

All the long take sequences were filmed in real-time without using edits.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Absolument cinéma: Juliette Binoche (2000) (TV)

A film for the end of days and, seemingly, every day before

Strange. I saw within 24 hours one of the biggest frauds I've seen (the despicable 'Crash') and one of the best films, 'Code Unknown'. Both pictures examine preconception (be it racism, xenophobia, or like societal concerns) but only 'Code Unknown' allows characters to live in the rhythm and cadence of ordinary life as so many of us recognize it.

The picture concerns the being of about 7 characters, typically catching those involved at times that aren't necessarily, at least apparently, advancing to a conventional plot. Scenes often begin in their ostensible middle, characters are caught mid-sentence; this technique breathes a sense of organic freedom into the people we are watching, a technique that director Michael Haneke frequently uses to capture the reality of people as they simply exist. Here, the nature of connection is examined through the complex means of allowing the audience's preconceptions, as well as some (certainly not all) of the characters, to add meaning and gravity to what we see.

I loved this movie; seldom do I feel privileged to be able to engage in the lives of those on screen. The experience of watching 'Code Unknown' is akin to putting in earplugs and watching random people interact: after some time, the interactions of those we see become our own personal narrative, meaningful to us alone. While this film has its meaning, it also understands that the viewer's thoughts and feelings are just as relevant to the process as the film crew's. To put it another way, 'Crash' would have been a miserable failure of a movie even if I hadn't seen it. 'Code Unknown' seems to come into being as its being watched, an experience between the filmmakers and the viewers. Michael Haneke could make 10,000 more movies and it wouldn't seem enough.